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A Michigan State Police investigation into allegations of impropriety by Livingston County District Judge Theresa Brennan will go to the state Attorney General's Office when it's finished, officials said.

Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a news release that he informed state police on Tuesday that his criminal division will review the results of the investigation. The AG's office has supported the investigation through warrant requests, he said.

But it's not clear when the investigation might be finished.

Andrea Bitely, communications director for Schuette, said her office wants to "prevent a delay after MSP's investigation and to eliminate any question of what will happen next for the residents of the county."

Michigan State Police Public Information Officer Shanon Banner said the investigation beganin January 2017 and was transferred to the Third District in Flint this year.

"They have been working steadily since then," she said.

The focus of the investigation is not clear. In May 2017, state police seized county-owned computers from Brennan’s courtroom and also seized property from Brennan's home. A state police spokeswoman did not disclose what was seized at that time.

Schuette's announcement comes less than a month after the Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission filed its formal complaint against Brennan and more than a year after her affair with a state police detective was uncovered through depositions in her divorce case. The detective was the lead investigator in a murder trial Brennan oversaw.

Tenure commission investigations are generally kept confidential until a formal complaint is filed. In the Brennan case, the commission took the unusual step last December of acknowledging it was investigating Brennan.

Besides finding misconduct, the tenure commission concluded Brennan misused her office for personal gain, failing to maintain high standards of conduct, failing to respect and follow the law and allowing social and other relationships to influence her conduct or judgment. The complaint also said she used her office to advance her personal business interests and failed to be “patient, dignified and courteous” to lawyers.

Prior to the release of the commission's complaint, she was removed by the Michigan Court of Appeals from a divorce case, citing her "egregious" behavior and saying she showed "apparent hostility" toward the defendant in the case.

Brennan was seen inside the nonpublic areas of the Howell courthouse Thursday. Local officials have declined to say what she was doing there.

She also is a defendant in a federal lawsuit filed by Livingston County Court Administrator Francine Zysk, which alleges Brennan refused to communicate with Zysk regarding a court-related matter, had been "badmouthing Zysk from the bench" and was a "bully of epic proportions."

Brennan has not commented publicly about the allegations. She is currently not hearing cases.

Livingston County Chief Judge Miriam Cavanaugh reassigned Brennan's cases to other judges one day after the Tenure Commission filed its complaint. The Michigan Supreme Court assigned retired Judge A. John Pikkarainen to Brighton's 53rd District Court, and local officials said he will serve indefinitely.

Under Judicial Tenure Commission procedures, Brennan is required to respond to the complaint within 14 days after she receives it.

But that timeline has been extended with the approval of both the special master appointed to the case – retired Wayne County Circuit Court Judge William Giovan – and the tenure commission, officials said last week.

An evidentiary hearing on the commission's complaint will be overseen by Giovan. No date has been set, but Lynn Helland, the tenure commission's executive director, previously said a hearing should take place "sometime around late September, or October, or maybe November."

Tenure commission investigations are generally kept confidential until a formal complaint is filed. In the Brennan case, the commission took the unusual step last December of acknowledging it was investigating Brennan.

Following the hearing, the special master will forward a report to the Tenure Commission with the findings and Brennan's answer.

The commission can dismiss the matter if it determines there has been insufficient evidence of misconduct. If it determines misconduct has been established by the evidence, the commission can recommend that the Michigan Supreme Court discipline Brennan.

Only the Supreme Court can discipline a judge.

If discipline is referred to the Supreme Court, both Brennan and the tenure commission have an opportunity to present oral arguments to the court before a ruling is issued.

The Supreme Court can reject or modify the commission's recommendations and can order censure, removal, retirement, suspension or other disciplinary action.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call state police at 332-2521.